It was a busy weekend for the NYU men’s and women’s soccer teams as both teams participated in tournaments across the Hudson.

Saturday began with the men’s team suffering a close 1-0 defeat to Rutgers University-Newark, the host of the tournament. This was an especially difficult game for the Violets because they were forced to play with 10 men for over an hour after starting junior goalkeeper Lucas Doucette was given a red card just 30 minutes in. Although they were down a man, the Violets were able to hold Rutgers scoreless until the 67th minute of play when a bad bounce allowed the Raiders to get one past substitute freshman goalie Grant Engel. After freshman midfielder Ricardo Mitrano was sent off in the 75th minute, the game finished with just one goal.

Later on Saturday, the women’s soccer team earned their second victory of the young season with a 2-0 win over Whitman College. Senior forward Melissa Menta scored both goals for the Violets, her first two of the season. It was a stellar defensive performance for NYU as junior goalkeeper Cassie Steinberg was only forced to make one save, recording her second shutout of the year.

In a much more difficult challenge on Sunday afternoon, the Violets were held scoreless until the 10th minute of overtime when junior midfielder Julie Glover scored the game-winning goal for the Violets. It capped off a good team performance which featured Steinberg, who made 10 saves in another shutout. This latest win improves the NYU women’s season record to 3-1 with four games remaining before the beginning of conference play on Oct. 3.

Sunday saw the men take the field again as they played against the undefeated TCNJ Lions. The Violets took an early 1-0 lead when sophomore forward Malcolm Montilus converted a penalty kick in the 18th minute. However, a seven-save performance by goalie Grant Engel wasn’t enough, The College of New Jersey scored three unanswered goals to win the game 3-1. The loss drops the Violets to 2-3 with just three games remaining before the start of UAA play. Junior midfielder Bryan Walsh remained optimistic after the difficult weekend and believes that this young team learned a lot about themselves this weekend.

“We discovered we have a lot of heart and passion for the game,” Walsh said. “Over the next week we will take advantage of all the game film we have available to improve ourselves for next weekend.”

Both teams will be back in action later this week. First, the women will host DeSales University on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. Then, on Sept. 19 at Gaelic Park, the women will host Bard College at 5 p.m. and the NYU men’s soccer team will host New Jersey City University at 7:30 p.m. This doubleheader will also be the first Violet Nation Giveaway Day of the season.

A version of this article appeared in the Sept. 14 print edition. Email Ben Goodkin at [email protected].